Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 95 Good News

In Davao City, not far from St. Peter's Church.

Zheng Guohui was standing in the open space outside the scaffolding at the construction site, surrounded by a white priest and Zheng Shun, Wang Xuemao, Zheng Yulan and others, discussing the blueprints.

Wang Xuemao and Zheng Yulan were both born into salt merchant families in Weiyang. They were criminals sentenced to beheading. Their families paid money to find scapegoats to rescue them and save their lives.

But since then

Unable to reveal their real names, Zheng Guohui first hid them on Chongming Island, and when he went to Southeast Asia, he brought them to Mindanao.

After arriving at this place, the two brothers no longer had any other thoughts and were determined to settle down and continue their business in Southeast Asia.

This white priest is Dutchman Weghorst Cooper, a priest of the Davao City Church. He is also a writer and engineer. He is good at building houses and bridges, and can play the violin. He is a versatile person.

Father Wehorst asked Zheng Guohui for permission to preach among the Chinese diaspora. After being granted permission, the price was that he had to contribute his labor, supervise the construction of houses and bridges, and impart knowledge.

Wang Xuemao and Zheng Yulan are now both students of the priest.

To do business in Southeast Asia, you must understand what the foreigners say. Father Wehorst is a man who is proficient in several languages. He can speak Dutch, German, English and French fluently, and can also communicate in simple Spanish.

Such talents can no longer be described as versatile.

The drawing in front of everyone is a drawing of a palace-style building in southern Germany. It has four floors and is a typical German classical revival architectural style, characterized by a high roof and spires.

“Dear General, this set of exquisite architectural drawings you see is one of my personal treasures. I believe that this kind of architecture embodies the essence of classical revival architectural aesthetics.

The spires around the building are not superfluous, but are the finishing touch, which is beautiful and unique.

These exquisitely carved arched doors and windows, like a gorgeous coat that gives the building a gorgeous appearance, are so noble, charming and intoxicating.

To replicate it here would be a very fulfilling thing.”

Father Wehorst had some of the neurotic qualities of an artist, and when he spoke he waved his arms exaggeratedly to emphasize the force of his words.

This was a very disrespectful behavior in front of the general. Zheng Shun couldn't help but take a step forward and was about to reprimand him.

Zheng Guohui waved his hand. He was not the kind of big shot who everyone had to respect and obey. He respected people with extensive knowledge. He said with a warm smile:

“This is truly an architectural masterpiece that will surely bring a distinctly different European architectural style to Davao City. I am looking forward to it.

How long will it take to complete a building like this?"

"It depends on the human and material resources invested, as well as the availability of highly skilled stonemasons or sculptors. If all these are fully guaranteed, two to three years is enough."

"It's barely acceptable. It's indeed a relatively large public building, suitable for large-scale social events, and it's a public facility that a city should have."

"I very much agree with you, Your Excellency General." Father Weghorst said, not noticing the strange looks from the others, pointing to the white marble piled on the construction site.
“I plan to use pure white marble from the Hamda Valley to build the main body of the building, which will be very beautiful and holy, and will be durable and able to withstand the erosion of hundreds or thousands of years.

The pale yellow marble with beautiful natural patterns can be used to carve exquisite arch doors and windows, Roman column patterns, art accessories, etc.

If gold leaf could be applied at key locations, by God! It would be a miracle beyond the original, a beauty that would shock the heart..."

Facing the messy scaffolding and the stone walls that were only a little over 1 meter high, Father Weghorst could already imagine the magnificent scene after completion and was deeply intoxicated by it.

"Ahem... Let's discuss that later." Zheng Guohui had to interrupt this artistic priest.

And you're also sticking gold foil on it. Doesn't that cost money?
He carefully examined the architectural drawings, pointed at the ancient Roman-style human sculptures on the drawings, and said with a frown;

"Father, you should know that the Chinese people are relatively conservative, and their traditional custom is not to look at or listen to anything indecent.

The human body sculpture in this architectural drawing is a bit too exposed. It would be better to cover it with a piece of clothing when carving.

Especially this woman..."

Father Weghorst cried out at once, in a high, shrill voice;
"Oh, God! This is not a woman. This is Artemis, goddess of hunting, nature and the moon. She represents purity and freedom. Look at the laurel branch in her hand, which is a symbol of freedom.

And this one, she is Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, symbolizing love and beauty, look at how charming her graceful figure is.

Oh...God!

The human body is the most beautiful thing in the world. We cannot look at it with lustful eyes. That is true blasphemy..."

"Shut up! How dare you, you evil monk! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will chop off your head with one knife..." Zheng Shun became furious when he heard the interpreter's words, and drew out the knife from his waist viciously.

Anyone who dares to insult the general is more unacceptable than killing him.

Zheng Shun was born into the Zheng family. Loyalty is in his blood. The family motto passed down from his ancestors is loyalty. He guards the door like a dog.

This was the way of life for a house-born child: clinging to their master's thighs, they had no worries about food and clothing in this difficult world, and lived a life more comfortable than most people. A servant in a small household might turn against the master when his family's status declined.

It is absolutely impossible for this to happen in some local gentry families.

Just like the Zheng family of Tongzhou

Even if any branch of the Zheng family declined, there were still more than a dozen branches of the Zheng family, both legitimate and illegitimate, with hundreds of blood-related children, and at least a few of them were sensible.

Even if we take a step back, it is not the servants' turn to eat the meat, and they can't even drink the soup.

A son born in a house shares the same prosperity and adversity with his master.

Zheng Fu and Zheng Gui, who were standing further away, could not hear the interpreter's words clearly. After they came to their senses, they drew their knives one after another and approached the priest with fierce looks on their faces.

This frightened Father Weghorst so much that his legs went weak and he almost fell to his knees, his face turning pale.

He knew that these were ruthless people who would kill without blinking an eye.

"Put your knives away. Barbarians don't know etiquette, so don't be too harsh on them." Zheng Guohui said this in Chinese. He saw several of his men angrily putting their knives back into their sheaths, still looking unwilling.

He didn't care, then turned around and said to Father Wehorst with a warm expression, "I roughly understand what Father means, but the sensitive parts must be covered. There is no doubt about that."

"Please rest assured, honorable general, your will is the principle we follow, and it will be as you wish." Father Wehorst was not a fool. After he came to his senses, he made a sharp turn.

In the face of power, any persistence is meaningless.

Zheng Guohui nodded with satisfaction and looked at the busy construction site again.

At present, there are more than 530 indigenous laborers participating in the construction of this construction site. In places that cannot be seen, there are hundreds of stonemasons working hard to carve. It is considered a relatively large project.

The entire building is made of stone, then covered with marble slabs and finely carved, which naturally took a long time.

All the efforts are worth it. Zheng Guohui does not want the whole city to be monotonous, but to present different architectural and cultural characteristics, integrate and display them here.

The entire Nanyang region
As a region where multiple cultures collide and intertwine, it needs to display the unique charm of Chinese culture that embraces everything with an open and free attitude.

Zheng Guohui gave a few more instructions here, asking Wang Xuemao, Zheng Yulan and several other students to study hard under Father Wehorst, including language and engineering skills.

In this respect, it is indeed unique.

Afterwards, Zheng Guohui took his men to several large construction sites to understand the relevant conditions and solve some problems. He returned near noon.

As soon as the convoy arrived at the gate of the city hall, they saw Lord Qian Jiang, who had been promoted to garrison, standing at the gate, leading his men and waiting anxiously.

Upon seeing the General's convoy returning, he hurried over to greet them, his tone filled with uncontrollable joy, saying, "Congratulations, General! I just received the latest news that the third group of Chinese immigrants heading south has arrived in Zamboanga, with over 22,000 people this time."

“Oh, great. When is the estimated arrival time in Vau?”

"Probably the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, okay, this is the real good news! Hahahaha..." Zheng Guohui laughed heartily after hearing it.

The third group of immigrants to Southeast Asia were all the remaining settlers on Chongming Island, as well as carefully selected young refugees. Those who were physically weak were not selected.

It is now early October, the season when coastal typhoons take a brief break.

The possibility of encountering strong typhoons and cyclones when going to Southeast Asia at this time is the smallest, and the safety of the large immigration fleet is more guaranteed.

Generally speaking

Even if the pirate ships on the southeast coast encountered a large fleet, even a small fleet of seven or eight ships, they would stay away from it and give up the idea of ​​robbing.

Pirate ships are generally not large and cannot be equipped with large-caliber heavy artillery. They mainly rely on their small size and high speed. After targeting a cargo ship, they will approach it and engage in boarding battle, then occupy and plunder the cargo ship in one fell swoop.

If you encounter a fleet, you will be at a loss and may even be killed.

After hearing the good news about the arrival of the third fleet, Zheng Guohui was in high spirits all day.

This means that Chinese immigration has entered the fast lane, and the strength on Mindanao has increased, with the total number approaching 5.

That is nearly 5 Chinese families. In 20 years, these 5 Chinese families will have a population of 50 or even more. This is not an exaggeration at all.

The women Zheng Guohui gave to these Chinese immigrants and soldiers were all young indigenous women. There were no contraceptive measures in that era, so they must have given birth one after another!
The desire of these Chinese immigrants to start a family, build a career, and have children, which had been suppressed for many years, burst out, and the effect was absolutely astonishing.

Well, that's great.

(End of this chapter)